In 21 European countries, independent beauty brands have a new retail champion

This week the Indie Beauty Media Group announced a multifaceted partnership with Germany-based beauty retail giant Douglas. It's the fourth retail partnership struck by the organization behind the—now global—Indie Beauty Expo events and the second such deal giving independent cosmetics, personal care, fragrance, and wellness brands access to shoppers overseas.

“Independent beauty is a strategically important area for Douglas, and we want to earn our place as the instinctive retailer-of-choice for independent brands entering or expanding in Europe,” ​says Tina Mueller, CEO of Douglas Group, who will keynote IBMG’s BeautyX Summit in Dallas, Texas, this coming May.

Explaining the company’s decision to team up with IBMG further, Mueller tells the press, “We also recognize that beauty entrepreneurs are the real driving force behind independent beauty, which is why we also want to directly connect with innovators, so that we can earn their trust and respect.”​

Selling product​

The new partnership means that IBMG will help Douglas identify and connect with indie brands that are right for the store’s current consumer as well as brands innovating product that will attract new shoppers.

“This will provide millions of beauty enthusiasts living in Europe with the opportunity to shop an expertly curated collection of exceptional products,” ​notes the IBGM press release. “For independent brands, this is an invaluable opportunity to be discovered by customers throughout Douglas’ 2,400 stores across 21 European countries.”​

Seeing the best of what’s new and next in indie is what the Expo events are all about; and Douglas’ executive vice president of purchasing, Christoph Honnefelder, knows it: “Through this partnership, we gain access to the latest independent innovations via IBMG’s trade shows and a channel to beauty entrepreneurs via IBMG’s content platform.”​

Scaling content​

IBMG publishes the Beauty Independent site, catering to brand leaders and founders. And, now thanks to this week’s deal with Douglas, a German-language edition of Beauty Independent is in the works.

The original English-language site, led by editor Rachel Brown, promises to “follow the latest indie beauty developments, support brand founders with educational insight and guidance, pull back the curtain on the personalities shaping groundbreaking businesses and foster an exchange of ideas within the indie beauty community.”​

According to this week’s release, “The German-language version of the popular publication will provide greater coverage of European independent and emerging beauty while becoming more readily accessible to beauty entrepreneurs among the 100 million German-speaking citizens of Europe.” ​

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Deanna Utroske, CosmeticsDesign.com Editor, covers beauty business news in the Americas region and publishes the weekly Indie Beauty Profile column, showcasing the inspiring work of entrepreneurs and innovative brands.